Toyota Dealership Working Overtime to Fix Recalled Vehicles

Bremerton's Heartland Toyota-Scion has fielded hundreds of calls from local Toyota owners who may have vehicles involved in recent recalls.

David Brook, a certified master diagnostic technician at Heartland Scion-Toyota in Bremerton, has been involved in making repairs to cars affected by the recent Toyota recall. The dealership has been calling Toyota owners to set up service appointments to make repairs to accelerator pedals. (MEEGAN M. REID | KITSAP SUN)

BREMERTON - The following number of vehicle types, which are affected by the recall, are licensed in Kitsap County:

Avalon, 2007-2010: 122

Camry, 2007-2010: 713

Corolla, 2009-2010: 269

Highlander, 2010: 20

Matrix, 2009-2010: 28

Rav 4, 2009-2010: 108

Sequoia, 2008-2010: 20

Tundra, 2007-2010: 341

Source: Washington State Department of Licensing

Heartland Toyota suggests owners with questions call the dealership at (360) 377-1200 or 800-660-4077. For information on whether your vehicle is included in the recall, visit Toyota’s Web site at www.toyota.com/recall.

Kitsap and Mason counties could have more than 2,000 Toyota vehicles with potentially sticky accelerator pedals or faulty brakes.

With the Japanese auto manufacturer continuing to roll out recalls, many of those vehicles will end up in the auto bays of Kitsap County’s only Toyota dealership — Heartland Toyota-Scion in Bremerton.

Data released to the Kitsap Sun on Tuesday by the state’s Department of Licensing show that Kitsap and Mason are home to 1,968 Toyota cars, trucks and SUVs that have been recalled for faulty accelerator pedals.

That number does not include the 2010 Prius Hybrids that were recalled on Tuesday. That data was not immediately available from the Department of Licensing.

But the dealership estimates that as many as 2,500 vehicles affected by the recalls could be in driveways in the two counties. As a result, the dealership has technicians working overtime to repair the cars that have come in so far.

“We’re staying open until there’s nobody in the service lane,” said Rick Wiler, managing partner with Haselwood Auto Group, which runs the Toyota dealership at the West Bremerton auto complex.

Company officials estimate the dealership’s call center has received 300 to 400 calls. Up to 50 pedal fixes are being completed a day.

While Toyota is sending recall letters to affected owners, the dealership is calling owners on its own to set up service appointments and answer questions.

“It was giving the people peace of mind,” General Manager Tom Diefendorf said.

The work is part of two separate recalls for certain Toyota and a few Lexus vehicles.

In October, Toyota recalled 3.8 million vehicles after concerns that some pedals could become stuck under floor mats. In January, 2.3 million vehicles were recalled after the discovery that a mechanism inside some pedals can deform, causing the accelerator to stick or slowly return. Some of the vehicles in the second recall might also be affected by the first, according to Toyota.

On Tuesday, Toyota recalled about 133,000 2010 Prius hybrids in the United States, and about 14,550 2010 Lexus HS 250h vehicles because the cars’ anti-lock braking systems may stop working momentarily. According to the company, previous year’s models are not affected by this issue, though some 2004-2009 Prius models are included in the floor-mat recall.

Diefendorf, with Heartland Toyota, said his dealership is being proactive to address customer concerns and is in better shape to handle to repairs after a 2008 upgrade that nearly doubled the service area at the dealership and added amenities like a coffee shop.

“The old facility could fit inside this building,” he said while standing inside a brightly lit, 36-bay repair garage.

Toyota, long seen as a purveyor of reliable vehicles, has taken a hit to its image. In January, U.S. sales were down 12 percent over the same month the year prior. For a time, recalled models were not sold, though Diefendorf said all of the models at Heartland are repaired and ready to sell.

Wiler said Toyota may have been slow to respond, but that the media has paid disproportionate attention to the company’s woes. He believes Toyota will learn from this experience.

“They’ve never had this type of crisis management happen with their company,” he said.